mush

¹ American  

[muhsh, moosh] / mʌʃ, mʊʃ /

noun

1. meal, especially cornmeal, boiled in water or milk until it forms a thick, soft mass, or until it is stiff enough to mold into a loaf for slicing and frying.

2. any thick, soft mass.

3. mawkish sentimentality or amorousness.

4. anything unpleasantly or contemptibly lacking in coherence, force, dignity, etc..

   His entire argument was simply mush.

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verb (used with object)

1. to squeeze or crush; compress.

   to mush all the candy together in a sticky ball.

   Synonyms:

   smush, mash

mush ² American  

[muhsh] / mʌʃ /

verb (used without object)

1. to go or travel, especially over snow with a dog team and sled.

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verb (used with object)

1. to drive or spur on (sled dogs or a sled drawn by dogs).

interjection

1. go! (used as an order to start or speed up a dog team)

noun

1. a trip or journey, especially across snow and ice with a dog team.

mush ¹ British  

/ mʌʃ /

noun

1. a soft pulpy mass or consistency

2. a thick porridge made from corn meal

3. informal cloying sentimentality

4. radio interference in reception, esp a hissing noise

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verb

1. (tr) to reduce (a substance) to a soft pulpy mass

mush ² British  

/ mʌʃ /

interjection

1. an order to dogs in a sled team to start up or go faster

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verb

1. to travel by or drive a dog sled

2. (intr) to travel on foot, esp with snowshoes

noun

1. a journey with a dogsled

mush ³ British  

/ mʊʃ /

noun

1. a slang word for face

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mush ⁴ British  

/ mʊʃ /

noun

1. slang a familiar or contemptuous term of address

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• musher
  noun

Etymology

Origin of mush¹

An Americanism dating back to 1665–75; obscurely related to mash ¹

Origin of mush²

First recorded in 1860–65; perhaps originally as phrasal verb mush on!, from Canadian French, French marchons! “let's go!”; see march ¹

Explanation

Mush is a soft, squishy clump of something. That bowlful of mush your grandfather gave you for breakfast might be oatmeal. Mush is a soggy mass, and cornmeal mush is a kind of porridge that fits this description. Mush is also something so overly sentimental that it's almost disgusting: "Oh, that movie was terrible, just a bunch of romantic mush!" When you use mush as a verb or an exclamation, it's usually in the context of dogsledding, meaning "Go!" or "Move forward!" This last meaning comes from the French marche, "walk" or "go."

Example Sentences

The blueberry Mush — I can’t get enough of it.

From Los Angeles Times • May 8, 2026

CNN host Michael Smerconish mentioned to Cummings during an interview this year, “Elon Mush has been quoted as saying that we’re safer with machines than we are with humans... What’s your answer?”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 27, 2021

Eight minutes after the truck owner called, a detective spotted the stolen truck in the parking lot of the Mush Inn motel.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 12, 2020

In contrast to the lush forest that flourished here millions of years ago, the Mush Valley today is cleared of any native forest, having been replaced by agricultural plots.

From New York Times • Jan. 10, 2011

“Get up there, Buck! Hi! Get up there! Mush on!”

From "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London